


His Three-Day Streak

by ShandyCandy278



Series: Undertale One-Shots [5]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Dreamswap (Undertale), And some Nighterror, Boys are boys, Cross and Nightmare Cuddle, Cross gets aggressive when he’s worried, Cross is good at this, Cuddling, Error doesn’t know what to do, Fighting Sleep, Flirting, Fluff, Insomnia, It is inevitable, I’m good for platonic fluff, Meme Squad, Nightmare can’t escape this, Platonic is good, There’s some Crossmare, but they’re gay, if you want to see it that way - Freeform, shhhh, so Gay Boys are Gay Boys, violin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-23
Updated: 2019-10-23
Packaged: 2020-12-31 18:27:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,573
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21150209
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShandyCandy278/pseuds/ShandyCandy278
Summary: It's been a little over a month since Core Frisk offered Nightmare, Cross, and Error a place in the Omega Timeline. Old habits die hard, and when you've lived as long as Nightmare has you can get pretty set in how you handle your personal struggles. Too bad he got caught in the act.





	His Three-Day Streak

**Author's Note:**

> It says somewhere that Nightmare sleeps better with other people in the room, and I wondered how he must've figured that out. 
> 
> Please note that this is set not long after they've met, so things are still relatively new to all three of them and they're still getting used to... well, everything. 
> 
> This little thing wrote itself, and I hope you guys enjoy it!

This was his third night in a row.

Which wasn’t really anything big, his record was nine, but at the same time, it was.

See, Nightmare suffered from Insomnia, and that wasn’t fun (obviously). He had been suffering from it for a long time now, and naturally, he created ways to cope with it. His way of dealing with it had always been to stay awake for as long as possible before passing out due to his body actually needing to sleep (because you can’t suffer from a bad dream if you don’t dream at all). This was mostly because he couldn’t really stay in one place for too long, and years of looking out for himself had steeled his reflexes to the point that he didn't even really relax while he slept anymore.

Gone were his days of sleeping heavily under the tree with Dream, and now came the time of running away from the said skeleton who wanted to do all kinds of things to him.

However, ever since he had befriended Error and Cross while simultaneously getting a house to hide out in thanks to Frisk about a month ago, his coping mechanisms had been…

Well…

_ (“What do you mean, you do it until you pass out?!” Cross exclaimed. Error didn't say anything, but unfortunately for Nightmare, he was siding with Cross on this one. _

_ “Oh, come on, guys!” He groaned. “It’s not THAT bad- give me some credit! I sleep when I need to.” _

_ “No, you don’t, and if we’re going to be living in the Omega Timeline, you’re going to have to break that habit!” _

_ “But-” _

_ “No buts!”) _

‘Highly Discouraged’ was what the conversation said, but that was a severe understatement in accordance with how Error and Cross had acted since then. The two of them had been constantly all over him the entire week before, during which he had tried to actually sleep. It was kinda weird because he hadn’t really expected this behavior out of Error. Then again, he had mostly stayed quiet and kept to himself during their past month of living there, so he couldn’t really judge.

Outside of that, though? The last week had wreaked pure havoc on his mind.

Seven different nightmares of himself or one of his friends falling into Dream’s clutches seared into his memory, and he fisted the bedsheets he was sitting on tightly. There was no way in heck he was going to let any of those happen. Even in his dreams.

Not if he had anything to say about it.

And so, he was on Night Three of having absolutely no sleep on week two after Cross and Error found out. He was doing everything to keep it on the down-low, which meant that he had to do everything to pass the time quietly.

Unfortunately, that meant no late-night solos on his Violin.

He was itching to play it, but he prevented himself from even touching its case. No, he wasn’t going to risk waking them up. He was going to handle his insomnia his way, and not any other way. He wasn’t about to wake them up so that they could stop him, either.

…

He could leave the house, though. Grab some fresh air from a different universe. Play a little. He’d be back before they woke up. 

Smiling at his absolutely brilliant idea, he grabbed his Violin case and teleported off to a Random Universe. Lucky him- it was a cloudless day and the sun was shining bright. Perfect weather for staying awake and for playing a nice tune.

Now to scout out a good place to play.

Looking around, he realized that he had appeared behind some trees in the middle of a park. It was a nice one- big with some thick overhang around the edges and a clearing for a modest playground for the kids. Nightmare found his legs moving before his mind caught up to his actions.

He knew just where he wanted to start.

* * *

The moment he heard the faintest sound of a small zap, Error’s eyes snapped open.

_ Someone had just teleported. _

Admittedly, he was still getting used to Cross and Nightmare. He hadn’t known either of them for very long, but they were trusting and far better than Blue had ever been. They respected his space and cared for him even when they didn't need to- to sum it up, he kinda owed them a lot. 

He was a light sleeper though, and when he heard that noise he just  _ knew _ that something was up.

Slowly, and very,  _ very _ quietly, Error stood up from his bed and grabbed his gloves and glasses from his nightstand. He tugged them on and placed his glasses over his eye sockets, walking over to the door of his room. He opened the door as quietly as he could, and when nothing protested he turned to the door on his right- Nightmare’s room. He knocked on it lightly, speaking softly.

“Night?” He asked.

No response.

This worried Error. He knew that Nightmare would have a hard time adjusting to Cross’ request and that the past week had almost been torture for the other, but was he actually still sound asleep? 

He opened the door softly, leering in and looking around.

No, Nightmare wasn’t asleep.

And he wasn’t there, either.

A quick run around the house (Cross was much more of a heavy sleeper than either of them, anyway) revealed that not only was Nightmare nowhere in his room, he was also  _ nowhere in the house. _ He rushed upstairs and opened Cross’ door, bringing his arms up and ready to shake the living daylights out of the other when he froze.

_ ‘Wait, nope, bad idea.’ _ He thought, drawing his arms back almost instantly to cradle them towards his chest.  _ ‘Dang-it, this is what Blue was talking about, wasn’t it? I need to use my hands to wake him up…’ _ He frowned.  _ ‘... Or do I?’ _

Without much prompt, he reached up for one of his eyes and pulled out some strings. He let them wrap around his fingers before directing them to grab at Cross. He moved to stand at the foot of the bed, arm up and ready to move.

He didn't even hesitate.

“WAKE UP!” He exclaimed, launching Cross out of the bed and into the air, only for Cross to land on it again. He almost did it a second time when Cross suddenly leaped out of bed, sword summoned and aimed at some random spot in the room. He spun around when he realized that no one was there, and when his eyes landed on Error he relaxed.

“Oh. It’s just you.”

“Just me?” Error raised a browbone, and Cross brushed him off.

“Never mind- what’s with the sudden wake-up call?” He asked.

“Nightmare’s gone.”

“... What?”

“He’s gone!” Error retracted his strings, waving his hand around. “I woke up to a teleporting noise and went to wake Nightmare up first, and he wasn’t there. He’s not even in the house, Cross.”

The monochrome skeleton groaned, his sword vanishing.

“He never actually listened to us, did he? How long do you think he’s been awake? Is it just the first night or…?”

“This would be the third night. You thought he'd actually do it for more than a week?”

“I thought that he’d at least try to start communicating with us if he was struggling with sleep!” With that said he stomped out into the hall and down the stairs, Error on his tail. “But no~! He has his own way of doing things, even if it’s so bad a doctor would grow pale just thinking about it!”

“So what are you going to do?” The error asked.

“I’m going to be the responsible adult here.”

“You? A responsible Adult?” He laughed. “When pigs fly!”

“Oh, shut it!” Cross sent a mild glare at him, stomping over to the fridge to pull out a late-night snack. He even took a bit to glance at the time- 3:21 AM. “You can at least help me think of a way to get him out of this stupid habit of his.”

“I can think of one, but he’s not going to like it.”

“He doesn’t like any of this.” The ex-guard glanced back at him. “Chocolate Milk?”

“Sure.” Error shrugged and watched as Cross worked, and soon enough they had two glasses of chocolate milk that they nursed between ideas.

Nightmare would be in for quite a surprise when he got home…

* * *

“I should get back before Cross and Error notice.” Nightmare mumbled to himself. He had performed for various different audiences various different songs, and he felt energetic enough to pull off being awake without drinking coffee. It would be about 6 in the morning now, and if he planned it right, no one would know that he had been gone. His violin was already back in his case and strapped over his back, ready to go. He was just procrastinating at this point.

Besides, he got some info on JR, and that was always useful.

The moment that he got home, though, resulted in him dancing out of the way of a large, red sword.

“Woah, what the-“

“You!” Cross shouted the second his eyes landed on Nightmare, and he practically launched himself at him.

“Hey!” Nightmare dodged Cross just barely, and he swiftly had to duck past a fist. “What’s going on here? Last I checked we were on speaking terms.”

“Yeah, and I thought you had actually listened to us.” Cross glared at him, and he only found himself even more confused.

“What?”

“So, tonight’s your third night without sleep?” The ex-guard lowered his voice while simultaneously throwing another fist. Nightmare caught it before it could hit him and danced out of the way. “Sure! Just go ahead and completely disregard your friend’s concerns!”

“I wasn’t!” Nightmare waved his hands, exasperated. “You don’t think I tried to sleep normally? I was hardly actually sleeping anyway- I might as well stay up. It actually works!”

“But it’s not healthy.”

Both skeletons paused in their fight and turned to look at the black one. His eyes were on Nightmare, and if the Guardian hadn’t eaten an apple he wouldn’t have been able to guess what Error was feeling.

The thing was that he did know what Error was feeling, and that made him feel worse.

“It’s not healthy, Nightmare.” Error repeated. “And we want to help you, so please just talk to us. Why were you hardly sleeping? When did this start? Don’t tell me you’ve been working through it since you were little.”

“... No,” Nightmare shifted awkwardly, away from them. He didn’t want to talk about this. “It’s… something I developed. Look, can we not talk about this? It’s literally the least of our worries at the moment.”

Error, surprisingly, was the one to take the next step closer. “And when did you develop it?”

“A long time ago, but as I said-” Another step back, another step following.

“When specifically?”

Nightmare paused at this, thinking. He had always had trouble sleeping after Dream started eating the apples, but the nightmares didn’t become part of the equation until-

“A little after Justice Reigns first appeared.” He answered without really thinking. He should probably stop doing that. With another step back he had his back to the wall, and Error continued to walk forward regardless.

“And why was that?”

“Why are you asking?”

“Because knowing the cause will help us help you.”

“My way works fine, it doesn’t need to be changed.”

“That’s not how dealing with insomnia works.” Error was almost touching him now, and in a desperate need to distract the other, he smirked and winked.

“Wow, Error, are you making a move on me?" He snickered when the black skeleton blinked, seeming to finally realize how close they were. "That’s a little gay.”

Instant yellow magic flushed over Error’s bones, and he took a step back.

“I-I wasn’t!” He exclaimed. “That wasn’t what I was trying to do!”

“So…” Nightmare frowned, but amusement shined in his lilac eye lights. “You don’t find me attractive?”

“No! Well- Yes, but-“

“That’s enough dancing around the question, Night.” Cross reached over and grabbed Nightmare’s hand, dragging him off. “We both haven’t had enough sleep so we’re BOTH going to bed!”

“If you wanted to sleep with me all you had to do was-“ Cross slapped Nightmare over the back of his head. “Hey!”

“Keep your mind out of the gutter, we’re just going to sleep.” They walked up the stairs, and Nightmare glanced down at Error. The other skeleton had pulled his hood down and was hiding his face in it, muffled screaming coming out of him.

_ ‘Huh.’ _ Nightmare thought when they finally approached his bedroom. _ ‘That was interesting.’ _

“You, get in your bed,” Cross ordered, pushing Nightmare into the room.

“Okay, okay!” He held his hands up in surrender and did as he was asked (demanded). He sat down on his bed, arms folded. “I’m in bed.”

“No, you’re not,” Cross growled. He walked over and used his arms to push Nightmare onto the bed until his back was on it. Then he leaned down and picked up Nightmare’s legs, taking off the shoes and placing them down on the bed, the shoes falling to the floor. Nightmare glared at him the whole time, but then Cross did something he didn’t expect.

He walked over to the other side of the bed and plopped down too, pulling the blankets up and over them.

“Whaaaat are you doing?” The Guardian asked.

“If you won’t sleep well on your own or try to find us to help you with whatever is going on, then I’ll make sure that you’ll _have_ to.” Cross’ voice was tired and grumpy, even as he snuggled into the blankets. “We’re just worried, Night.”

_ ‘I know that.’ _ He thought, watching as Cross slowly fell asleep. He stayed like that for a moment more, to make sure that he really was asleep. Then he ever-so-slowly began to slip out of bed-

“No.” Cross grabbed his shirt and pulled him back towards his chest, arms wrapped around him and keeping him there. “You’re going to sleep.”

“You scared the crap out of me!” Nightmare exclaimed, wiggling against the other’s hold. “I thought you had fallen asleep!”

“Do you seriously think anyone can actually fall asleep that quickly?” Cross frowned and tugged Nightmare closer when he kept moving. “Besides, I’ve had practice. You’re _never_ going to know if I’m actually asleep or not.”

“Cross-”

“Now _sleep~”_

_ ‘But I don’t WANT to sleep.’  _ Nightmare thought. Reluctantly, he stopped struggling against his friend. _ ‘Maybe I won’t have to. I can lay awake, no problem. I’ll wait until he’s actually asleep- it can’t be that hard to see the difference. I just need to wait.’ _

And wait he did. 

He waited for minute after minute, waiting for any kind of sign that Cross was actually awake and not asleep. At one point, his position was uncomfortable, so he moved around until it was. He ended up facing Cross, whose eye sockets were closed. Nightmare would have thought he was relaxed if the tight arms around him weren’t proving otherwise.

At one point, his whole body began to feel a little… sluggish. But that was okay- it was expected if he had stayed there for long enough. That’s why he needed to keep moving- to stay awake. He shifted a little- somehow getting more comfortable, and he swung his legs around somewhat under the blankets until they found a comfortable spot too.

After three days of no sleep, much to his distaste, his whole being felt heavy. It sunk into the mattress and supported his body for him. He didn't realize how sore his body was until then. The warmth of the blankets and the body next to him slowly ebbed into his tired bones, relaxing him ever so softly- almost like a gentle caress. His eye sockets closed- just for a moment, and he heard the soothing thumping of Cross’ soul surrounded by the silence of the bedroom.

It actually felt… kinda nice. 

When his sockets opened, they were much,  _ much  _ heavier than before. He realized what was happening too late, and he struggled to keep himself awake. No, he was going to win this. He was going to do this his way. He wasn’t going to-

“Shhh…” Cross whispered, momentarily surprising Nightmare (he was actually really good at faking, wasn’t he?) and trailing his fingers up and down Nightmare’s back. “Relax, and just let it happen, Night.”

“But-“

“No buts. No anythings. Just. _Sleep_.”

Nightmare grumbled, irritation flowing through him when a yawn forced its way out of his mouth. It was gone soon enough though- and despite his best efforts at keeping them open, his eyes slowly closed only to open again. They were even  _ heavier _ this time.

They opened and closed a few more times against his will, and at one point they stayed closed. He took a few deep breaths, unconsciously snuggling closer to Cross. He could still hear the beating of Cross’ heart and feel the warmth surrounding him, and it took only seconds before his mind finally allowed him to rest. 

When he realized that Nightmare’s breathing had evened out, finally asleep, Cross breathed a sigh of relief- allowing himself to fall asleep too.

* * *

For the first time in a long, long time, Nightmare didn’t wake up to the shrill ring of his alarm clock or to the sound of his own screaming. In fact, when he opened his (still heavy) eyes, it wasn’t even there. Someone must have snuck it out to let him sleep in.

The Guardian blinked a few times as his brain slowly shifted from sleep to consciousness. He tried to move, but firm arms were wrapped around him, keeping him still. He moved his head to look at the other side of his body, surprised to see Cross sleeping there.

What… happened?

That’s when he remembered. He had been on a three-day no-sleeping streak when he was caught by Error and Cross, and the latter had forced Nightmare to stay in bed long enough for sleep to start kicking in. He had even slept in the same bed to make sure of it, and…

…

And that had been the most peaceful, restful sleep Nightmare had had in  _ years _ .

He wondered what was different this time.

Actually, he  _ knew  _ what was different this time, but he wondered about how it helped. Not to mention that everything was probably just a huge coincidence- so what if he had had good dreams last night, it could just be a lucky break.

…

Or, it could be something more.

Why would it help to have someone in the same room as him? 

Was it because he had someone else watching his back? Someone else who he knew could protect him and wake him up should JR find their location? Or maybe it was because it reminded him of before the incident- back when he and Dream would spend their days under the tree, sleeping together.

Whatever it was, it felt good. He sighed, sinking into the bed a little more.

It was probably time to wake up, now. He moved to get up, but Cross mumbled something in his sleep and pulled him back down.

…

Well, there was only one way to do this, then.

“Cross.” He spoke, shaking his friend’s body a little.

“Mmm, I don’t wanna wake up…” The other groaned, pulling Nightmare closer. Nightmare huffed, shaking Cross a little harder.

“Cross! Wake up!”

“Nghhh.” He blinked a few times, white and red eye lights slowly coming into focus. He looked down at Nightmare, confused. “... Why are you in my room?”

Nightmare bristled.

“ _ Your _ room? We’re in my room!” He exclaimed. 

“What? Why am I in your room?” His eye sockets narrowed before springing wide open, and he tumbled off the bed.

Unfortunately, his arms were wrapped around Nightmare, and so the two of them tumbled onto the floor together.

“Ow, Cross what the f-”

“Is everything okay?!” Error burst into the room, strings at the ready. When he saw it was just them he sighed, letting them fade into his magic. “Oh. You cuddle bugs are finally awake. You slept the whole day yesterday.”

“We  _ what?!” _

“Yeah, so now it’s time to get off your lazy behinds and actually eat something.” He moved to walk out the door but paused, a small smile on his face. “Good to know that you’re both cuddlers, by the way. You two looked adorable.”

“So… we didn't do anything?” Cross asked. Nightmare blinked a few times, confused.

“No, you just got me to actually sleep.” Then he smirked, leaning down. “Unless you  _ wanted  _ something to happen last night?”

“No!” Cross removed his arms and stood up, a bright purple flush on his face. “I just jumped to conclusions. I don’t have the best memory after I wake up.”

“But why would you think that unless you _wanted it_?”

“You know what, shut it with your logic and come downstairs- I’m starving.” He nearly tripped over the blankets that had followed them off the bed but left the room without incident. Nightmare chuckled softly, the motion slowly growing into a full-out laugh.

He knew what he was going to do today.


End file.
